It may be a gimmick, but given that Christmas is only weeks away, it may make for a nifty stocking stuffer. I know I want one, and I'd probably never use it after assembling it! But heck, if two pre-teens can put one together...
Oops. It appears the first batch are SOLD OUT and pre-orders are being taken for January-February delivery.
The NOTAKLÖN
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
OS, the real Klon is an incredibly complicated circuit. I've had mine apart and lost count of how many electrolytics and resistors are in it. I don't see how wone could make one less soldering.
But here's the deal - the Klon is probably the biggest con-job in the history of electric guitar playing. It's the Seinfeld of effects pedals, i.e., it's a pedal about nothing. It basically does nothing and all it really is at the end the day is a clean boost with a tone control. You can do a lot better with an active EQ pedal.
That said, if someone wants to give me couple grand for my Klon they are welcome to it.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
I've all but given up on pedals. I thought having a tube amp and pedals would be the schizz, but I found I spent more time twiddling switches and twisting dials.
My tube amp wound up losing its spring reverb. Not being handy with soldering irons and schematics, and knowing that tube amps can throw even the healthiest guy a jolt, I've simply put it aside. I have several modeling amps, and they too, wind up costing me more time in trying to find a sound than I spend playing once I've found it.
From the little I know, the Klon is an overdrive pedal. I already have a Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive and an Earthquaker Devices The Depths. I also have a Richie Kotzen RK5 Signature Fly Rig that I've never used, because quite honestly, I don't know how to use it!
I suppose this is the inherent acoustic player in me (or my incipient laziness) that prefers to simply pick up a guitar and start playing. I also find that I don't have a surfeit of electrical outlets for plugging in devices. Even with a pedalboard power supply (I have a Behringer PB600 with built-in 9v power) I have to find space and power before I can even begin twiddling knobs.
Which is why I say I'd probably never use a NOTAKLÖN. But it still might be a gas to assemble one. No wonder they're sold out -- a great Christmas gift for the guitar player on your list!
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
OS,
Dialing in your sound is a key skill you need to learn to play live. No matter where you go, it will sound different than the night before. You must be able to listen to the room. Some rooms sound great and require very little, others require compression, delay, etc. Indoors and outdoors are completely different too.
Generally, indoors the larger the venue the less reverb or delay is used. Outdoors I like to run pretty dry and have the FOH reverb in my guitar monitor. Oh, yeah, whether or not you're getting your stage sound from a monitor feed will make a difference too.
That's when you need to realize that your stage sound may be very different than what the audience hears depending on how the house sound EQ's and effects you.
Above you mention not having reverb. So, that may be awesome at one venue and terrible at the next. Just really depends on the hall.
Seriously, you need to learn how to work your stuff and also how to communicate to the sound person what you want in the monitors.
Finally, switching guitars adds more complexity to your rig. With a rack processor it's easy since you can build signal chains for each guitar and bank them. For pedals you'll have some pedals you use all the time and some for certain guitars. Take a Stratocaster for example, I always have a little compression on one.
For chorus, it's the norm to have a bit of an aggressive compressor on with the chorus to keep it clean.
It's just a skill you really need if your goal is to be a performer.
BTW, the KLON is NOT an overdrive pedal.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Klon = The Emperor is wearing no clothes.
I have never seen such a big collection of parts do so little!
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
+1Originally Posted by Tele-Bob
You're better off with a TS9 and/or a Proco Rat.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Give me a Les Paul Studio, a Deluxe Reverb and a RAT and I can conquer the world.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
For less than a C note it looks like a fun project
Thank you! From all the negative comments, I felt my buzz getting harshed.
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
Haters gonna hate
Looking forward to your review. Some of us are simply sharing our reviews.
I agree that it could be a good project for under $100. Let's see what you come up with.
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
I neither like nor dislike it......I have no dog in the fight.
But I think the bang/buck ratio is pretty slim.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Nothing against it, but for the money there are lots of better projects out there.
Also, you can buy a soldering iron for a lot less. Leaning to solder is extremely easy and shouldn't be a barrier to maybe getting something that will be a lot more fun. FWIW I started soldering when I was about 12 years old.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
My son was about 12 years old when we assembled a guitar kit and I taught him how to solder. He told me it was easy. I told him that's because someone taught you how to do it! I learned on my own by ruining things!
This kit is geared towards those who don't want to solder. That's understandable, but GGG and BYOC sell kits with soldering required for considerably less. And if you don't mind sourcing parts, you can do even better by buying a PCB.
Or make a PCB which is fun for a 2 layer with no vias.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
The thing about the Klon is that it is what some people call a 'transparent' overdrive, being a fine pedal if what you need is to fatten the tone and adding just as much gain as you'll get with a fatter signal coming into your preamp. It's a good clean booster and works well for making a single coil guitar sound thicker.
Guys like Jared James Nichols, for instance, like to keep their chain as clean and minimalist as possible, so they like this circuit.
I have a EHX Soul Food, which is pretty much the same circuit, just without the hype. I'd NEVER pay the money they charge even for proper Klon clones. I rarely use it, as a matter of fact.
The TS9 is an entirely different animal, it colors your tone and if that's what you like, then the Klon really ain't for you. I myself like the TS9 for dirtier tones.
The RAT is probably one of the most versatile and good sounding dirt pedals ever made. You can dial in fuzzy, distorted or overdriven tones into youe amp with it.
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